and, of course, waiting in the wings, john kerry, who we understand the white house will nominate to be defense secretary. i'm told he would accept that post even though he would prefer to be secretary of state. we've got to go but thank you very much. chris cizilla, kelly o'donnell. joining me now is ambassador nicolas burns, former undersecretary of state and ambassador to nato, now with the john f. kennedy school of government at harvard. nick we've been through this before, seen confirmation hearings go off kilter. this is not getting a great start. >> and it's a shame, andrea, because i think these charges against ambassador rice, i don't find convincing. she was simply representing the viewpoint of an entire administration and many of us have been in positions of defending administration's republican and democrat in the past, i have, where you're not out there, you know, just trumpeting your own personal views. you're relying on a collective judgment made ats the state department, the white house, the cia and other places, and she was merely the person representing the position